Revised Pledge For AmeriCorps Draws Critics

By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS

Published: November 21, 2002

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20—
A proposal to change the pledge taken by AmeriCorps members to include references to God and defending the Constitution has stirred an outcry among current and former participants in the federally supported community service organization.

The critics argue that the change, for which final Congressional approval is expected next year, might deter recruiting.

The executive director of the alumni group of AmeriCorps, Michael J. Meneer, warned of concerns that the new pledge was ''militaristic and religious.''

''Respondents were concerned that the new pledge would have the effect of dividing people rather than uniting them,'' Mr. Meneer said last week in a letter.

Congressional Republicans say the new oath is virtually identical to that required of all federal employees, including members of the armed forces and Peace Corps volunteers. Moreover, they note, the new phrase ''so help me God'' is optional.

The old pledge ends ''I will get things done.'' The new version finishes with ''so help me God.''

AmeriCorps, which was established by President Bill Clinton in 1993, provides federal grants to 50,000 participants, most of them young, who devote one or two years of service to the community, doing tasks like building affordable housing or setting up afterschool programs for children. The program provides a modest allowance, usually at the poverty level, and an education award of several thousand dollars at the end of service.

''These are federal employees,'' said David Schnittger, a spokesman for the House Education and Workforce Committee, which included the change in the Citizens' Service Act. ''If they're going to have an oath at all, it should be in line with that used by other federal employees.''

Rick Goldsmith, who spent a year filming AmeriCorps workers in California for a documentary, says they view themselves as community volunteers, not federal employees, when they work with groups like Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross.

''This isn't a job,'' Mr. Goldsmith said. ''It's to enrich themselves and the communities. They're not doing it for a paycheck.''

Rosie Mauk, the AmeriCorps director, sought to address the complaints in an e-mail message to members and alumni this week. The new pledge, Ms. Mauk said, ''will not be mandatory'' and may be used in conjunction with the old pledge. But her spokesman, Sandy Scott, conceded today that it was unclear whether Congress would let the oath remain optional.